On the use of silver nanoparticles for direct micropatterning on polyimide substrates

This article proposes a direct micropatterning process based on the growth of photoreduced silver nanoparticles onto polyimide substrates. The silver nanoparticles are found to have sufficient catalytic efficiency for subsequent electroless plating. Characterization of the process indicates that UV energy dose and heat treatment have to be traded off against photoand thermal degradation of the polymer substrate. Factors affecting the adhesion of the final electroless metal deposit are also discussed.